Bucket List
by WhimsicalSesquipedalian
Summary: Part of 'New Companion' AU. The Doctor wants to help Gavin complete his bucket list. Can be read without the others, but is intended as a series.
1. A Reluctant Start

'A bucket list.'

The Doctor looked up at Gavin from his favourite spot on the maintenance swing as though Gavin had all of a sudden decided to sprout an extra head, and having made up his mind, actually managed to achieve it.

'Is it customary for humans to make themselves a reference of available buckets?' he pondered in bewilderment.

It took all of Gavin's self-control not to scream. In the few months he had been travelling with the Doctor he had come to expect a plethora of stupid and oblivious remarks when confronted with everyday simplicities, but this one really took the cake.

'It's not a list of buckets, it's a list of things to do before you _kick_ the bucket.'

The Doctor sat back and took a moment to ponder this, his brow furrowing in concentration.

'Kick the bucket, the act of bucket kicking. Is it like football, I'm good a football.'

Gavin brought a hand up to his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew he loved travelling with the Doctor, but sometimes it was extremely hard to remember why. He rubbed his hand across his eyes and brought it back down before replying with barely veiled frustration:

'It's not… you don't… it's a list of things you do before you die. Kicking the bucket is 'human' for dying.'

The light of understanding finally dawned in the Doctors face, filling his eyes with a mischievous twinkle.

'A wish list,' he said, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a smile, 'I'm good at those.'

He gave the piece of paper Gavin had handed him earlier an enthusiastic flick, and then hunched over it with devotedness.

'Hmmm let's see, sky diving. Don't know what that is, but it sounds dangerous; next. Stone Henge; ooooh, I've been there, started a fight between a Roman regiment and all my worst enemies over Pandora's Box. Rule 402: Never mess with a Roman… Or is it never eat fish on a Tuesday. Either way, it's an important rule. But there's a tick next to that one, guess that means you've already done it. Let's see… Ayers Rock. No tick. Doesn't sound dangerous and I haven't been there yet. Wha-hay, we have a winner.'

The Doctor sprung out of his chair excitedly upon this exclamation, jumping and jittering for a moment, before running up the stairs and sliding across the glass landing, slamming hard into the TARDIS console, as Gavin stood back surveying him in bemusement. He began climbing the stairs as the Doctor steadied himself and looked up Ayers Rock in the TARDIS' databanks.

'Australia!' he exclaimed, barely masking his disgust as his face screwed up and his hands jittered even worse than before, 'you want to go to Australia, it's so … warm.'

Gavin had now reached the top of the stairs, and had an unhindered view of the Doctors incomprehension; his slack jaw and wide eyes, hands loosely clasped in front of him, and fingers jittering, almost subconsciously. It would have almost been laughable, that is if Gavin wasn't already so exasperated by the conversation that, had he had any less self-control, he would have strangled the Doctor by now.

'It wasn't… it was just a suggestion,' he managed to force out with a heavy sigh, 'Why don't we just forget it.'

'No, we can do it,' the Doctor said haltingly, turning back to the console, 'Australia.'

The Doctor swallowed the word down like he'd just drunk a particularly foul dose of cough medicine, and started plugging coordinates into the screen.

Gavin leant back on the railing, dropped his head and sighed. A coffee, that's what he needed. A hot, rich cup of coffee, maybe even a cappuccino. Warm fluffy frothing, chocolate dust, a custard tart on the side…. He was still caught in his little day dream when the console sprung to life; it's loud, metallic keening breaking him out of his reverie. He had just enough sense to grab on to the railing before the TARDIS violently tilted to the side, a result of the Doctors flamboyant flying style, before he surrendered to his minds complete devotion to the act of remaining upright.

After its usual violent swaying and jolting, and otherwise absolute dedication to damaging Gavin's knees beyond repair, the TARDIS levelled out and stopped with one last bump, allowing Gavin to release the death grip he had on the rails. As the TARDIS' incessant wailing also petered out, Gavin could hear the other unfortunate result of the space ship's unconventional flight procedure, Maggie's loud and highly unimpressed barks echoing through the control room.


	2. An Unexpected Obstacle

The Doctor glared at the console, the coordinates taunting him with that one, obnoxious word.

'No, we can do it.' He said haltingly, aware of Gavin's annoyance behind him and trying to swallow his discontent, 'Australia.'

The word went down like a pill. His head was filled with images of hot, dry landscapes. Shrubs brushing against your legs and making you itch. Snakes and spiders hiding behind every rock and bush. And perhaps the worst of all, kangaroos. Large, hopping marsupials, which looked cute from a distance, but up close were nearly one-hundred kilograms and could knock you flat with one kick. Not that he was scared, no, more uncomfortable; that was the word. He swallowed again, and his fingers twitched in faint protest before he plugged in the coordinates.

The click and groan of the TARDIS engine springing to life drowned out Gavin's heavy sigh behind him, and all the Doctors apprehension was momentarily lost as the TARDIS started singing. The pure, melodic tones of the TARDIS filled the control room and added to the concerto of DINGs and KA-ZIPs as she flew through the vortex, the Doctor her conductor, guiding her toward their next adventure.

As she settled down to land though, the Doctor was once again reminded of the fabled 'out-back' they were about to embark into, and his normal flamboyance while flying became subdued. With a final, energetic bump, the TARDIS landed, her song stopping only to be replaced by a highly unamused Margaret's yelling.

 _'_ _Well if you two are quite finished with your bouncing and wailing, one of you could at least be decent enough to come and open the door!'_

The Doctor looked over at Gavin, who was shaking his head and mumbling 'Every bloody time' under his breath, as he clomped up the stairs to let Margaret out.

Once Gavin was gone, the Doctor turned towards the doors.

'It's only Australia,' he affirmed.

With one final swallow, he squared his shoulders, straightened his bowtie, rocked on his heels and started for the door. He heard Margaret bounding down the stairs in excitement as he reached the lock. Gavin's heavy, clomping gait reached his ears as the tumblers turned and clicked. He could sense them both moving to stand behind him as he turned the handle and pulled open the door.

A blast of damp wind buffeted him in the face and he could hear Gavin swearing behind him, as Margaret barked out an unimpressed _'ooohhh, it's brisk.'_ They all looked out the doors to see one of the oddest sights in the all the Doctors travels, and perhaps in the known universe.

'It's raining,' Gavin stated flatly.

'Yes, I can see that Gavin' said the Doctor, his voice tinged with annoyance as he looked out upon the downpour.

What should have been a warm, dusty landscape covered in reds, gold's and greens, was instead a cold wet plain, the clouded sky and heavy rain turning the sand brown and the plants grey. Ayres rock stood in the distance, seeming to shine silver as water cascaded down its sides in heavy streams. Now the Doctor had heard many things about Australia, mostly that it was hot, it was big and full of deadly creatures. But one thing he knew for sure was that it _hardly ever rained_.

'It's raining,' Gavin said again, this time his voice sounding more incredulous.

From down below Margaret's voice joined the chorus, her short sharp whines floating up to them.

 _'_ _And I was so looking forward to a walk.'_


	3. Good Things

Margaret could feel the annoyance of the two humanoids above her as they stared out in the torrential rain. Her human, Gavin, was looking out on the sight with incredulity, and she thought back to all the times they had gone adventuring together. There had been many occasions when they had encountered rain, they lived in England for goodness sakes, and he'd always seemed to find the resolve to keep going. But she wasn't so sure anymore. Other than the TARDIS, Gavin hadn't taken her on any adventures since he lost his mate, and while she loved and was devoted to Gavin completely, Margaret still hadn't found a way to re-kindle his adventurous spirit. And yet, since he began traveling with the Doctor, Margaret had seen some of that spirit return. Enough to make her hope that his disappointment would be short lived.

The Doctor however, was a mystery to her. He was the first humanoid who could actually understand her adequately. Most of the others, her dear Gavin included, just took a guess and were lucky if they got it right. She did, of course, take pity on them and would often times nose or paw at the object she desired to give them a running start; they were, of course, only human. But this Doctor was something different. As he looked out on the landscape she saw the disappointment and incomprehension adorned on his face and got the impression that the Doctor was one who was not entirely used to the experience of being denied opportunities.

'Well, that's not something you see every day,' her Gavin mused, 'didn't think I'd ever say this in the Australian desert, but I might need a rain coat.'

Margaret felt a warm buzzing begin in her belly as her Gavin clomped off, much more jovially than before, to find his coat. When he was gone she looked over at the Doctor, who was still gazing out the doorway. His mouth kept opening and closing uselessly, while his hands were lightly clasped in front of him, his fingers wriggling and twitching as if unsure of what they should be doing.

'It's raining', he said softly.

* * *

Gavin, rain coat donned and brolly in hand, clomped back down into the control room. The Doctor was still standing by the door with Maggie now sitting beside him, softly nosing the hem of his coat. Maggie was often times an enigma to him, but one thing he knew for sure was that she couldn't stand to see anyone unhappy, human or not.

'Well, no use standing round feeling sorry for ourselves,' Gavin announced, jolting the Doctor out of his reverie.

The Doctor turned to look at Gavin oddly as he walked over. Gavin could almost see the gears turning behind his eyes as the Doctor took in the rain coat and umbrella he was now wearing.

'We're going out there?' he queried, hands flapping and feet scuffing as he gestured towards the downpour, 'but it's raining.'

'Yes, I can see that Doctor,' Gavin teased, 'Come on, it won't kill you.'

And with that he flicked up his hood, shoved the umbrella unceremoniously towards the Doctor, and marched into the rain.

It had been a long time since Gavin had been out in the rain, and his coat smelt of must and moth balls. He closed his eyes and drank in the smell, trying to push back the inevitable stab of sadness; the last time Ellie had been there. They'd walked along the docks down by the sea. It had been dark and the street lights danced off of the water in the air, and the puddles on the ground. When they were finally too cold to stop themselves shivering they went and got hot fish and chips, which they ate on a bench under their umbrella. Gavin didn't think he'd ever been wetter, or happier. He knew for a lot of people the rain was something to avoid, was something sad and morbid; living in England this was a guaranteed recipe for depression. So instead Gavin looked at rain as an opportunity, the opportunity for a whole other kind of adventure than one couldn't have in the dry. Rain could be happy, if you gave it a chance.

A jubilant bark and a splash behind him told Gavin that Maggie too had decided to brave the unexpected weather. Almost as an afterthought he turned and looked back at the TARDIS to see the Doctor. Upon catching Gavin's eye, the Doctor squared his shoulders, looked down at the umbrella he'd been handed with resolve and opened it with a flourish before stepping out awkwardly into the rain.

'Not used to getting rained out, are you?' Gavin said with a smirk as the Doctor caught up, the water sloshing into his highly impractical shoes, 'Great Time Lord of Gallifrey, and all.'

'It's rain,' the Doctor said, his eyes heavy with memory, 'only sad things happen in the rain.'

Gavin shook his head, and was about to retort when something caught his eye. There, through the rain, about one-hundred metres away, was a family. The children, of which there were three, were decked out in brightly coloured rain coats and oversized gum boots and were jumping enthusiastically in puddles, squealing with delight. Their parents, a mother and father, watched on from the shelter of the raised boot of their silver SUV. Gavin smiled and looked over at the Doctor.

'Then you've clearly been doing it wrong,' Gavin stated, pointing across the plain.

The Doctors eyes followed his hand and took in the scene. One of the children had now produced a jump-rope and was happily skipping through puddles, while the other two had decided that all the wet dirt was too good to waste and were going about the business of making mud pies. The father pulled the mother closer, wrapping her hand in his. He turned back, and Gavin could see that the Doctors eyes had once again begun to twinkle.

'Come on,' Gavin said, clapping the Doctor on the shoulder, 'Good things always happen when it's raining.'

And with that he grabbed the Doctor by the sleave and marched him across the scrub, Maggie trotting happily at their heels.


	4. The Epiphany

The Doctor felt memories swim behind his eyes, clouding the picture of the rain soaked desert.

'Only sad things happen in the rain,' he heard himself saying.

Images sprung forth in his head, slowly at first, then faster and faster as memories of lost friends and people he couldn't save threatened to overwhelm him. Perhaps the worst was the look of worry and terror on Wilfred Noble's face as the Doctor looked up at him from the stoop, soaking wet and cradling an unconscious Donna in his arms, knowing that despite everything they'd been through, when it really mattered, he had failed and lost his best friend.

'… Been doing it wrong'

The Doctor flicked his eyes over to Gavin, his gruff accent breaking through the Doctor's reverie. Gavin, however, wasn't looking at the Doctor but off into the distance, his gaze arrested by something other than the dreary landscape. The Doctor turned his head, following Gavin's gaze into the distance, and finding his sight caught by a young girl with a jump rope, happily skipping through puddles in her bright yellow mackintosh and pink gumboots. A little to the side of her were two other children covered in mud and two adults, their parents, sitting a little way away under the shelter of their automobile.

'C'mon' Gavin said, whacking the doctor on the shoulder and almost knocking him face first into the mud, 'Good things always happen in the rain.'

And with that Gavin grabbed the Doctors sleeve and began marching them over, the Doctor tripping and stumbling over wet scrubs and through muddy puddles in the attempts to keep up with Gavin's brisk pace, and completely ruining his shoes in the process.

 _'_ _Well I hope you weren't too attached to those ridiculous shoes',_ Margaret barked from behind him, chuckling in amusement, ' _you really don't get a lot of wet weather do you?'_

'Yes, yes, let's all laugh at the time travelling alien because he doesn't own wellingtons', the Doctor huffed, almost falling over again as his shoe snagged on a bush.

Gavin turned his head and looked at the Doctor, shaking his head bemusedly, 'Are you sassing my dog?' he asked.

'She started it', the Doctor grumbled, the rain running down the back of his neck and down into his socks making him a lot less excited and amicable than usual.

He saw Gavin open his mouth to reply when a cry from ahead of them cut him off.

'Hello!'

Both the Doctor and Gavin looked over to see the father of the family they were approaching smiling and waving at them from his wife's side.

'Disappointing, isn't it?' he asked jovially as they approached him, not at all looking like he was really that disappointed with how the day turned out.

'Jack, don't eat the mud', his wife half shouted half sighed from his side, looking exasperatingly at one of the children playing in the mud, who was now sheepishly lowering a rather large handful of wet dirt away from his mouth and back to the ground.

'PUPPY!'

The happy cry rang across the plain, the three children forgetting all about their mud pies and skipping rope as they ran over to Margaret, happily petting and pulling her in all directions. Margaret, rather than being put out by the sudden besiegement of children was happily barking and sniffing at them. ' _Catch me'_ , she cried, bouncing a short way away, the children squealing with delight and giving chase.

'Nice dog', the father remarked, nodding appreciatively towards Maggie, 'My names Dave by the way, and this is my wife Susie' he added, holding his hand out to Gavin, who shook it.

'Gavin,' he said, moving to shake Susie's hand, 'and yes, Maggies a good old girl.'

'You're Brits?' Dave said, cocking his head at Gavin's rough accent, 'been here long?'

Gavin smirked cheekily, flicking his eyes over to the Doctor, before replying nonchalantly, 'no, not long, feels like we only just arrived to be honest.'

The Doctor watched this whole exchange a few steps back from Gavin, taking in Dave and Susie's contentment to just sit watching their children, apparently unfazed by the bad weather that had come their way. It puzzled him how they could be so good-natured about the fact that they were missing out on adventure.

'Why aren't you more upset?' He queried, stepping into their space and peering questioningly into their eyes, as if the answer to the deepest questions of the universe lay just beyond them.

'Has anyone explained personal space to your friend?' Dave snorted, looking over to Gavin, while gently shoving the Doctor back.

'It's raining, there's no adventure, just sitting, but you're happy?' the Doctor continued, too interested in his puzzle to be phased by Dave's response.

'Can't control the weather,' Susie said with a shrug, 'and besides, now there's no complaining children to deal with when their feet get sore, or they need the toilet, or someone scraped their knee, we had bloody enough of that at Palm Valley.'

'And they're all so happy to be out of the car that they'll amuse themselves for an hour while we just get to relax, I call it a win,' Dave added with a smile, leaning back on his hands and sighing contentedly.

Gavin chuckled at that while the Doctor stood staring, twiddling his fingers, trying to adjust to this new "relaxed" take on life's challenges. He wasn't sure he liked these Australians.

 _'_ _Oh give over you old stiff'_ , Margaret chided, trotting up behind him, covered from head to tail in mud, ' _can't you just accept that you don't always need an adventure to be happy!'_

He looked down at Margaret, who was currently radiating joy despite the muddy and wet state she was in, and then up at Gavin, who was having a friendly chat with Susie, while Dave sat, eyes closed, relaxing next to his wife. He turned back to Margaret's expectant gaze and tilted his head, fingers twitching in agitation. Margaret just gave an amused huff and nuzzled his leg, she was done making her point.

'Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!' three small voices chorused, running over to the car.

'I'm hungry', the tallest child whined, the other two nodding their heads enthusiastically behind her.

'And so it ends', Susie said with a sigh, turning to her children with a small smile, 'How about some sandwiches?'

The children crowed round the boot while Susie pulled out a bag and lifted out three squished looking sandwiches, which the children grabbed at eagerly.

'Uh, what's the magic word?' Dave chided.

The children's hands shrank back quickly. 'Please', they all said at once, hands immediately reaching back for their food, which they were now given.

'FRITZ AND SAUCE!' the boy, Jack was his name, screamed when he received his, eagerly unwrapping it.

The Doctor flicked his gaze from the excited children to Dave and Susie, who were now sitting cuddled, Susie looking fondly at their children, while Dave opened a sandwich and offered her a piece. He was reminded, then, of Amy and Rory, the looks on their faces when they first held little baby Melody in their arms, the joy that had been there, and all of a sudden he wanted to share it. This family had been on their way to adventure, yes, but it wasn't the adventure that made them happy, it was just being together, and because of that, even the rain could be joyous. The Doctor, excited by this epiphany, turned to Gavin, 'Good things happen in the rain', he said.

Gavin looked at him and smiled, while Margaret barked ' _finally'_ from below him. The Doctor looked at the pair, his new family, and his lips twitched upwards in a small smile. Eyes twinkling, he turned back to look at Dave and Susie, his epiphany turning into inspiration.

'Doctor?' Gavin questioned, his tone suggesting he knew exactly what was coming next.

 _'_ _I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, three kids is no picnic'_ , came Margaret's cheerful advice, meanwhile looking over at the children like three kids was Christmas and Easter all at once.

'Just, nowhere dangerous', warned Gavin from his side, 'I'm not dealing with angry parents.'

The Doctor just smiled and looked over at Dave and Susie, straightening his bowtie and stepping forward.

'I don't believe I introduced myself. I'm the Doctor, and I'm here to take you on an adventure.'


End file.
